Hi, I wonder if anybody knows about the ENERGY TAKE CLASSIC 5.1 being discontinued or are they coming out with a newer version? Just last week
(06/24/09), I saw them on Vann's website and I was just going to purchase them along with an av receiver, but all of a sudden they came up with a note on them stating that they are no longer available. The speakers without the sub are still available though. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks Roosta

The take classic 5.1 is pretty new so I highly doubt they're replacing it.

But if you look at the Take Classic on the vanns, you'll see they have two options to add a sub for $100-$200 extra in the right column. Both those subs are better than the one that comes in the Take Classic 5.1 system. More powerful and play deeper. Just choose the s8.3 or 10.3.

[quote=afrogt;16750322]you paid too much. You can get it with the s8.3 sub for $299 from vanns.com! In fact for only $20 more than you paid, you could have gotten it with the s10.3 sub.

QUOTE]

I just talked to customer service at wwstereo.com and they price matched Vanns for me. So I ended up getting it for $299 afterall. Thanks to afrogt for the heads up on the price and to wwstereo for price matching without any hassle whatsoever!

I just received my Energy Take Classic 5.0 from amazon and they sound amazing for speakers this size. I paid $177 for the 5.0 and another $199 for the s10.3 sub from Vanns.

At first I was thinking the sub was a bit overkill for speakers this size. But, after hooking the system up and listening for about a week now I feel confident that this is the right setup and at the right price.

My room is a little awkward (12x10 room opening to a great room both sharing vaulted ceilings) and there is a lot of reverb to compete with. However, these speakers have no problem moving air and producing a nice crisp clean sound. They are a little bright for my taste, but that probably comes with the size?

i was going to pick up the polk RM85 5-piece system from bestbuy for 500.

It's all the same class of speaker (tiny satellites) but the Takes are better for less money. Buying at retail price from Best Buy is NEVER the best value

the Polks have even smaller drivers than the Takes! the Take Classics for $150 plus the S10.3 sub for $199 will BLOW AWAY the comparable Polk RM / Klipsch Quintet type systems and for less money.

even better, if you can fit a slightly larger speaker, get the C-50 / C-C50 package from WWstereo instead of the Take Classics. these are true "bookshelf" type speakers (instead of tiny satellites) with real response down to 100Hz or so, and will sound much larger / fuller than the little Takes.

and, yes, the "brightness" is somewhat a consequence of speaker size, as that system has a big hole in response in the upper-bass region (120Hz - 200Hz) below where the little sats roll off and the sub picks up. when you suck out that mid/upper-bass region it tends to emphasize the top end a bit.

However, "brightness" can also be a product of room acoustics. MultEQ will flatten the response of your speakers and help "tame" the brightness, and additionally create a smoother blend between sats and sub.

Thanks for the tip batpig! I also have an opportunity to buy a pioneer VSX-1019AH-K for $399 (new). But, I will definitely look into Denon for consideration as well.

I was all set to buy a 1019 but decided to spring for Pioneer's Elite VSX-03. If the 1019 is half as good as the VSX it's definitely say 'go for it'... It's a really nice unit (and if you can live without the extra HDMI port, the 919 model is 99% of the 1019 for a decent discount).

I believe the auto-setup is the same in all three units and that is seriously a killer app... Better than the similar system offered by other brands if only because you can change EQ settings after the setup is done without dumping the auto calibration setup.

Yea Canada gets screwed over with electronics. I wanted to get the Energy Take Classic 5.1's but they're $699 ($999 a week ago) at Futureshop. Also the Denon AVR-590 is $499 over here. If I buy from the States, the duties/customs/shipping fees will cancel out the savings.

Question.
How high do u turn up volume on receiver without getting crackling sound from center speaker?
When I turn dial up between 0 and +4 I get slight crackling sound during major explosion scenes from Blu-ray movies.
Am I pushing speakers too much?

$600 total for 5.1 speakers PLUS the receiver? 200 sq. ft with the room open to another is a little big for the Take Classic and especially for the sub that comes with it. If you desire the small speakers of the Take Classic, at least get a better sub.

Or you can just get the 5-speaker pack for $199 and a different sub (like the BIC F12) for the $150-200 range.

If that's really all you can spend TOTAL for the receiver + 5.1 speakers, I would highly suggest you shop the used market for a nice digital receiver in the $150 range that is a few years old and doesn't have HDMI. You simply can't get a NEW budget HDMI receiver for under $300... you would get better bang for the buck grabbing a nicer non-HDMI unit from a few years ago that somebody is selling for an upgrade.

If you can stretch to $700, you can spend $300 on the receiver (Denon 1610/590 or Onkyo 507) and then $400 on speakers + sub, which would be more viable.

It does not do HDMI audio but it does at least have Audyssey MultEQ with Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume. Combine that with the Take Classic 5 speakers pack + ESW-C10 sub and you are right at $600 total shipped from Vann's.

i saw the response that this system may not be enough for my apartment that I desribed. Its ~200 sq.ft living room that opens to a ~35sq. ft kitchen
Only ~9 ft ceilings and this will be connected to a 42" samsung 1080p and Xbox 360 with desires of musics, tv, movies and gaming.